The world is the playground of energetic Erin Barnard and you quickly discover that while chatting to him, he is eyeing out what you would consider obstacles in everyday life as his next launch off point.
Story by Sophie Thompson
The young star is currently dancing in the extravaganza show ‘Shall We Dance’ that is taking place at the Playhouse and finishing this weekend. “This is my first Shall We Dance and I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t nervous and excited.”
“Parkour and Freerunning give me a sense of freedom. I know that I can get out of and into any situation I desire, no matter what obstacles are in my way, whether it be physical or mental. Parkour is not a sport in the traditional sense, as we don’t compete with others we compete with ourselves; to always do better, go a little further, a little higher, pushing all the time to improve on something.”
Parkour is a freestyle discipline that allows you to move around mostly urban spaces in the most efficient manner possible. It is a combination of running, climbing, swinging, vaulting, jumping, and rolling.
The passionate parkourist states, “I feel most centred when I’m moving, like I‘m at my highest potential. I think I was born to move one way or another. With dancing, the challenge of having to move as one with someone else is exciting.”
When he does a Parkour run, he mixes it up with flips or somersaults. “I am an extremely cautious person; most people don’t think so when they watch me. They think I’m being reckless and stupid when they see me doing Parkour or Freerunning. What they don’t know is that I spend a lot of time assessing the environment before I do anything, I am paranoid that way – it must be safe or I don’t want to do it.”
The self-taught Parkour enthusiast has little time to be idle, “My hobbies include traditional longbow archery, hiking, camping, dancing, mountain biking, knife-making and I like wielding knives, machetes, axes and pretty much anything I can use in the bush.”
The keen outdoor sportsman claims, “I am also very involved in Scouts. I enjoy all aspects of Scouts but I have to admit I mostly enjoy the hikes in the Drakensberg Mountains.”
At sixteen years old, Erin has a whole life awaiting him. Smiling, he says, “I would like to speak all my blood languages – Dutch, German and French.”
“I also want to become a chiropractor for serious athletes. Reason being I want to be able to travel around the world to go and meet professional Freerunners and Parkour enthusiasts and help them recover from injuries or just generally improve their skill from a medical perspective, because I know how much I love to move and how important it is to me to do so safely.”
He ends the conversation thoughtfully, saying, “The only person you should be better than is the person you were yesterday.”
Barnard, along with over 100 dancers, is wowing audiences at the Playhouse until this weekend in the annual showcase, Shall We Dance. For more information, visit www.playhousecompany.com.